For some it is a no-brainer that going into an animal's home to kill it is wrong, for others, it is our right to do with the planet as we see fit. This episode attempts to show the mentality that drives the pro-cull side. A few reasons people choose the pro-cull side as I see it:

Political - appeasing the voters of a certain electorate.

Fear - doing anything, even if it doesn't actually help, causes some sort of mental state of believing one is safer.

Money - when the government pays you nearly $6,000 a day to kill sharks it's easier to convince yourself that what you're doing is justified.

God Given - God gave us our advantageous position on this earth to lord it over other animals and no animal has the right to endanger a human on any circumstance.

What side do you fall on and how to you justify your feeling?

"The Mentality of the Cull" is the proper title to this episode and I don't care for the thumbnail for the video either, but I gave up a bit of control on that to reach more viewers via AnimalBytesTV, and I'm thankful that they want to spread the truth about sharks rather than the same old sensationalist crap on Discovery Channel.

I've been asked repeatedly to release my entire conversation with the shark cull contractor in the south of Western Australia so here it is (and it's long). Whether you agree with the cull or not, this conversation offers a unique platform to analyze the cull. It's pretty clear from watching the video that Graeme Pateman is a likable guy even if you don't like how he makes his money. For the record, despite my personal opinion, I was very nice during this interview, in fact, I barely had to open my mouth...Graeme just kept talking. So much so that I had to break this interview into multiple parts. I have not cut out or changed any of his or my words, but I have inserted topical footage from my time.

Graeme is correct when he says makos, black tip whalers, etc. are not protected in Western Australia (the full list of protected fish can be seen here). All species of hammerhead sharks are listed as either endangered or vulnerable on the IUCN red list, but that is not the same as being protected in state or federal waters, which they are neither in WA.

Part 1 primarily caused me to think about the press releases prior to the cull in which the Government said they were taking careful measures to make sure the mitigation was carried out in as humane and professional manner as possible. That just doesn't seem to be the case, nor does it seem to be financially efficient as you'll see in part 2.

Part 2, among other topics, discusses the payment of the cull contractor. The press released the number $5705, based upon the estimated total amount to be spent on the contractor in the south alone over the trial period. Graeme told me $5000 per day in the interview. When I double checked on that he explained that it was actually $5500, however, this number subtracts Goods and Service Tax. Calculate the total however you feel comfortable, but I usually don't get to claim that my income is less than it is because of taxes. One young deck hand, fuel for two runs a day, and bait ( which was not always changed as I witnessed with my own eyes ) seems like rather minimal expenses. So, debate all you want whether his profit range was $4,000 a day, $5,000 a day, or somewhere in-between, whichever total you come to is an obscene amount of money.

Something else I can't shake from this interview is the fact that it was a trial run during a period of time that white sharks are known to not frequent the ares. Simultaneously the WA Government stated they wanted the drum lines in the water as soon as possible for public safety. So was it for public safety or was it to conduct a trial run?

Perhaps the most common theme throughout all my interviews with pro-cullers across Australia was the phrase "something had to be done" and the government was "doing what it could to increase human beach safety". Delivered by itself, the phrase "doing what we can to increase human safety" sounds great. The problem is the evident lack of understanding or rationale when you ask these people to explain what the cull is, how it works, how it makes the beaches safer, and why they feel safer with drum lines in the water. While actual rationale was missing from these explanations the conversations also had something else in common; the words "feeling better". So, animals were killed to for a placebo effect...what was actually accomplished was a calming of fear buzzing in the brains. Whether you love sharks or hate sharks, perhaps the first step is realizing this is a battle with ourselves rather than a battle with the sharks before we can even touch the topic of whether it is right to kill other animals in their own homes.

I would bet good money that 98 percent of people out there will say they are more afraid of sharks than lions. But why?

Shark enthusiast that I am, I still find it easier to IMAGINE myself having a fun-filled, cuddly day with a lion instead of a shark. Why? Not because of my knowledge and experience with lions, but because of WHAT I THINK I KNOW about lions. I’ve never encountered a lion in the wild. In fact I’ve only seen one in a zoo, TV, or book. But my impression of lions is one of a mammal that lives in a social, family-oriented lifestyle that is warm, furry, licks its cubs, and eats small, deer-like things such as antelope (not people). All of that information I gained because of what I read or saw on TV. In summary, I’ve never encountered a lion yet fear is far from the first thing on my mind when a lion is brought up in conversation. Contrast that with a shark. Despite a growing number of shark enthusiasts there remains an extremely small percentage of people on this planet who have encountered or seen a living shark. Yet the majority of this same percentage of people who have never seen a shark will tell you they are afraid of sharks. Again, not based on what they actually know of sharks from experience, but from what they have heard or seen on TV, the theater, other people, the news, etc.

"...The cull is a security blanket that won’t protect people from sharks any better than a nightlight will protect us from monsters under the bed."

Statistically this makes no sense. By the numbers, lions blow sharks out of the water in terms of people killed and even numbers of people eaten. Yes, that’s a bit of a loaded statistic since humans and lions are both land-based animals, but still, the bottom line is that lions can, do, and will kill continue to kill a !$#%* load more people than sharks. Shouldn’t that scare you? ONE lion named, Namvelieza, killed 43 people. That single lion more than doubled the number of people killed by every shark of every species on the ENTIRE PLANET on average per year!! Aren’t actual statistics of people killed and eaten what we should base our fear on? No. Because that’s not how fear works.

Here’s a little psychological exercise about fear I performed on myself that leveled the playing field between lions and sharks a bit. I imagined myself magically alone in the Serengeti with an adult lion not too far away from me. Next I imagined myself on SCUBA, alone in the ocean, with an adult white shark not too far away from me. Guess what? I am less concerned about the white shark than the lion. Why? I am more familiar with the shark than the lion. I’ve encountered white sharks enough times over the last decade that I feel confident that my chances of survival are quite high. Note that I’m not declaring myself a shark whisperer or that I am even correct in feeling safer, in fact that’s the point; the feeling I have is a product of my perception of a situation I am familiar with. The lion on the other hand I don’t really know much about. I can try to apply what I think I know about encountering a lion in the wild, but that pales in comparison to the confidence of real life experiences with the white shark.

Conclusion:

When we cull sharks, we aren’t saving people from sharks, we’re saving them from fear. We fear what we don’t know; what we are unfamiliar with. Naturally, we are less familiar with the world under the ocean (sadly, we’re rather unfamiliar with the world above the surface as well). This allows us to fall victim to false information and even our own imaginations. When it comes to sharks, fear is the real problem, not the shark. Sooooo many things on this planet kill soooo many more people than sharks do. In fact the numbers are so low it’s debatable whether shark incidences should even qualify as “a problem”.

The issue is unfounded fear. The cull helps solve unfounded fear with unfounded mitigation. It makes people feel better. Therefore the cull actually does solve a problem so to speak as long as one admits that the problem is fear and the cull is a security blanket that won’t protect people from sharks any better than a nightlight will protect us from monsters under the bed. But once you admit that you have to ask the question, “is it to OK to kill things just because we’re afraid of them?”

This is really part one, where Graeme talks briefly about himself then touches upon how little assistance was provided by the government. I feel I must repeat that whether you think he made the wrong decision to accept the contract or if you would have accepted it for half the pay, being upset with Graeme accomplishes little. In our discussion he repeatedly made it clear that he felt he was helping and making the public safer. Some of us believe that, some don't. But those who believe it, why? Because of what the government said? If the cull was wrong, those who justified and spent tax payer dollars on the cull are to blame, much more than this contractor. This employment opportunity did not exist without the government. And it can only exist next year if the people accept it (silence is a form of acceptance, btw.) It is clear Barnett, Baston, Buswell, Hunt, and co. can't be trusted to tell the truth under oath, in press conferences, or to do the right thing. It appears to be in their best interest and their intention to mislead the public, so if you don't want this to happen next year, what exactly are you going to do about it? Something more than vent on Facebook I hope....

Meet Graeme Pateman, the contractor who was paid $5,000 a day killing sharks in the southern region of Western Australia. He's a nice guy, really he is...nice enough to invite me on his boat and explain his standpoint on things. The full 1.5 hour interview is a lot to take in so I'm releasing it in doses.

The point is not to like or dislike Graeme, in fact if you are going to praise or hate anyone then focus on his employer, the government of WA, not the employee. The point rather is to examine our mindset as a species when it comes to our place vs. other animals' places on this planet (for those of you that are unaware, yes, humans are in fact part of the animal kingdom.)

What did we learn from this interview? Well, first, and perhaps most importantly, this cull was not about killing the animal responsible for the handful of fatalities over the last several years, rather, it was about making the public FEEL as though something was being done. In fact, it was just practice!! Practice that cost the lives of many animals that had nothing to do with public safety. That's straight from the mouth of the man hired by Colin Barnett to carry out the task of killing the wrong animal at the wrong time of year at a price that would make Jane Goodall consider culling chimpanzees. continue below video

So, for all the recreational ocean users who told me the cull was good because it made you safer, you can stop with that nonsense now. Not only did this cull NOT make you safer, it was always intended ONLY TO MAKE YOU FEEL safer without actually accomplishing the task. If you still insist that baited hooks near your beach are a good thing, please go surfing with a piece of fresh bait hanging off your board from now on.

Next, listen to Mr. Pateman try to rationalize first, that only sharks at a certain distance (1,000 meters) from the beach would fall victim, as though sharks would magically know that if they crossed that line they were asking to be killed. Consider the following: The shark (presumably illiterate) needs to simultaneously understand that the baited hooks are intended for animals over three meters (next season Fisheries will have signs in 4 of the most popular WA languages posted next to the hooks explaining the three meter rule) while also understanding that if it wants to approach the beach it should swim between the drum lines and try not to alarm any recreating humans with its presence. When I challenged that perspective Graeme switched to stating that "people come before sharks", continuing to explain that there was plenty of beach for the sharks to use without encountering areas that are popular recreational areas for humans. (Gee, I think I heard something similar from another ecological scholar). Again, the shark is required to know where it is allowed to go and not go based upon the convenience of our recreation.

Sadly, the mindset of this fisherman is not unique nor is it limited to the uneducated or even the mentally challenged. Instead it seems to be shared by the premier of a state (who happens to look like a bad guy from the Lord of the Rings). Well, Western Australia, congratulations, you now know what it's like to have a George Bush representing you.

Look, it doesn't even matter if you love sharks or hate sharks. Hate'em all you want. As a taxpayer, shouldn't you be upset that your government just spent $2 million (and counting) on a sham in order to secure votes from people who don't have a clue what's actually happening in the ocean?

Can't wait to interview this guy tomorrow regarding shark politics, especially after arriving at my own conclusion that the media is the biggest enemy in WA, not the sharks themselves. Please take a few minutes to watch Chris Neff's concise TED Talk below. What do you think of his 3 fundamental points?

I may have stumbled upon Colin Barnett's environmental advisor at the beach yesterday. Take a minute to watch the below video which is simultaneously funny and disturbing.

While filming part 1 of The Price of Existence I've become aware of a trend in people, myself included, to stubbornly hold onto ideals we have already adopted as truth. Two of the most extreme examples are OCEARCH supporters followed by shark cull supporters such as the man in this video. One of the reasons miseducation is so dangerous is the difficulty of reeducating those who have been led astray. The lyrics "Hearing only what you want to hear...knowing only what you've heard" come to mind each time I encounter someone on the street who tells me that the shark cull "had to be done", quickly followed by admitting that they don't know what it is, but they heard on the radio or the TV that the prime minister said it was going to make them safer and preserve the economy. Those are both lies by the way, and I, unlike the WA government, have the evidence to support my claims (revealed in the film). The fact remains that most people will continue to believe what they choose to believe despite the fact that we live in the "age of information". Global warming is a myth, SPOT tags don't damage fins, the war in Iraq wasn't about oil, the world is flat, and baited hooks at beaches will make us safe from sharks. I'm accepting donations for my shark school, by the way, so we can teach them which beaches they are allowed to swim past.

Still Shot from 'Losing Nemo'. Locals pushed out by the corporations who control the government

I can't believe it's been three years since we fought the fight to pass AB376, outlawing the sale of shark fin products in California. It was an important battle in the war, but the war has just begun. It's still quite easy to find shark fin products sold in restaurants and shops, and I don't just mean in China Town. Some good news has resulted from the passing of the bill in the form of a few shark fin product perpetrators being busted and prosecuted. But as we fight the local fight against those who will sell shark fins until there are no sharks left, we sadly have to worry about the federal government interfering (read here) on behalf of the fishing industry....a fishing industry that is about as sustainable and responsible as dropping nuclear bombs in lakes to catch trout. Don't believe me? Read this report from Oceana exposing fisheries that throw away 65% of what they catch, including all the cute and cuddly things that you actually care about, like dolphins, turtles, otters, whales, etc. Yes, this is in the United States, not Mozambique.

Let's skip over South Africa for the time being (seems to be an uphill battle on a slope covered in mud over there) and go to Australia, another first world country that "cares about the ocean". Their feds are trampled all over existing laws and the opinions of its voters to push an expensive, ineffective, and ecologically disastrous slaughter of sharks. Yes, by the government that simultaneously lists the animals its killing as protected and vulnerable. From a shark's perspective I'd be thinking, "with friends like this, who needs enemies?"

We continue to spill oil although we haven't recovered from the last ones. We pursue drilling in the arctic when it's already proven that the arctic is melting away from use of the very thing we're drilling for. Rain forests are destroyed, proposals to dump sediment onto the Great barrier Reef, natives pushed off their land, poison allowed in approved food, and we worry about offending the cultures of people who's cultures seem to be hell bent on killing every last thing on the planet. Maybe the government knows something we don't know.Maybe it really is too late. Maybe it's better for them to help their buddies make as much cash as possible on the limited time left on this planet. Maybe they'll be the ones who can afford a flight to an off-planet living facility.

Enjoy your commute...especially if you are employed by Colin Barnett's Administration.

Whether you love sharks, hate sharks, or are indifferent, can the niche of the shark...its purpose and contribution to the planet be questioned? Of course that requires one to have a clue what the shark does on a daily routine, which, believe it or not, has nothing to do with eating people. Now, examine your contribution to the planet today, this week, this year...maybe even your lifetime. How has the planet benefitted from your presence?﻿white sharks, great whites, white shark video, tiger sharks, shark cull﻿

A little bit of humor in this video. This white shark, Mau, returns to Guadalupe looking pretty beaten up from bite marks before having his pride beaten up as well by repeatedly missing "dead targets" Shot in 2009 by WSV